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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-06-25 Euless Articles Mayor, Council Hires Roy as City Manager Posted on: June 12, 2024 The Mayor and City Council unanimously approved the hiring of Andrea Roy as the new city manager for the City of Bedford, effective immediately. Roy has served as interim City Manager since January 19, when former City Manager Jimmy Stathatos accepted a position in the private sector (More: https://bit.ly/3SbH8iK). “We all agree there’s no one better to fill this position, to lead this talented team of Bedford employees than Andrea,” said Bedford Mayor Dan Cogan. “She knows the vision, she knows the residents, and she knows this city. We are confident in her abilities to take us to the next level and carrying out that vision to move Bedford forward.” During her time as Interim City Manager, Roy has: o Coordinated and prioritized capital projects, including funding sources o Furthered economic development efforts in the Bedford Commons property and purchase (and ultimate development) of the Campus West site o Increased focus on resolving customer service deficiencies, providing training and support where possible o Began Fiscal Year 2024-2025 budget process o Implemented Incentive pay for Public Works (various certifications at the time of hiring) o Continued fine-tuning fleet, reducing number of vehicles based on usage, providing right number, size, and type of vehicles, evaluating fuel usage and considering cost saving measures where available Now that her role is official, Roy’s immediate plans include assisting in the budget preparation for the Council to review in August and wo rking directly with Midway Development Group, who will be determining the best type of businesses for the Bedford Commons property and engaging the community in the coming months. Roy joined the City of Bedford in January 2021 as Development Director and was promoted to Assistant City Manager in June 2022. As she officially steps into the role of city manager, Roy brings more than 25 years of experience in economic development, business recruitment/retention, state and local incentive programs, contract negotiation, planning and zoning regulation, and municipal development. During her tenure in Bedford, she helped launch the new online permitting and licensing portal, implemented the short- and long-term rental registration programs, facilitated the acquisition of the former Airport Area YMCA building to be repurposed for the City’s future Senior Center, and initiated the update of the City’s Master Plan. "I am thrilled to officially take on the role of City Manager for Bedford,” Roy said. “I'm fully committed to our community. We've got a lot to look forward to with new developments and better services. Thanks to the Mayor and City Council for their support as we keep making Bedford a great place to live, work, and do business.” Bedford police charge new suspect in elderly woman's death; first suspect released By FOX 4 Staff and Peyton Yager Updated June 20, 2024 2:44pm CDT Bedford FOX 4 New suspect charged in Bedford murder case Bedford police announced they mistakenly arrested the wrong guy for the murder of an elderly woman in her home. But after new evidence came out, they believe they now have the right suspect. BEDFORD, Texas - Bedford police announced they mistakenly arrested the wrong guy for the murder of an elderly woman in her home. But after new evidence came out, they believe they now have the right suspect. 79-year-old Christina Barsanti was killed after a man forced his way into her home. Police said surveillance video showed a suspect, possibly wearing a wig at the time, ringing the doorbell to the home on Meadow View Lane and asking to use Barsanti's phone. When she refused, the suspect pushed his way into her home. The video showed the suspect leaving several minutes later. Barsanti's grandchildren discovered her body. Police originally arrested, a 39-year-old from Euless, and charged him with the murder. He has since been released after all his charges were dropped. On Thursday, police announced a new arrest: Aaron Pouchie, 26, of Montgomery, Alabama. Pouchie and his vehicle were located in Jefferson Parrish, Louisiana, back on June 10 and taken into custody the next day for unrelated charges. Pouchie has now been formally charged with Barsanti’s murder. New details released Thursday reveal as detectives continued to investigate, they obtained a clearer image of the vehicle that left the scene. Police then tracked the vehicle information to Pouchie in Louisiana. Bedford PD would not provide an on-camera interview Thursday or elaborate on any details regarding this second arrest. FOX 4 spoke to Bedford Deputy Police Chief Bobby Lapenna back on June 10. We asked what evidence linked detectives to the man originally arrested. At that time, he said officers had confronted him about panhandling in the area on the day of the murder. "We reviewed that Ring doorbell and were listening to the voice of the person and recognized it as being an individual they dealt with earlier that day," he said on June 10. "It was particular because it had a southern accent." Now, police say Pouchie was the actual voice on the Ring doorbell video. But they won't say if they know why Barsanti was specifically targeted or why the suspect may have been in that area. According to public records, Pouchie was released from an Alabama state prison back in January. Bedford police did say the suspect’s vehicle was transported to North Texas so detectives can review that evidence as well. The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office is now working to extradite Pouchie to Texas. Texas woman charged with trying to drown 2 Palestinian kids. Muslim group calls for hate crime charge. BY RHYMA CASTILLO, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS THE TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY UPDATED JUNE 22, 2024 7:01 PM Jun. 22-The Dallas-Forth Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, is calling on state and federal authorities to investigate an alleged hate crime involving a woman charged with trying to drown two Palestinian-American children in North Texas. The attack happened on May 19 in Euless, a town between Dallas and Fort Worth. The children's mother, referred to as Ms. H in CAIR's news release, was wearing a Hijab and modest swim wear while watching her two kids, ages 6 and 3, playing in the shallow end of her apartment complex's pool. The suspect, identified by local authorities as 42 -year-old Elizabeth Wolf, was allegedly intoxicated when she approached Ms. H while making racist comments, according to a police statement in a Fox4 story. According to CAIR's news release, Wolf "then jumped into the swimming pool and grabbed the children to the deep end of the pool to allegedly drown them." Ms. H jumped into the pool to help her children. Her 6-year-old son was able to escape, but her 3-year-old daughter could not. ALSO READ: UTSA students call for cease-fire in Gaza, accuse university of being anti- free speech "The alleged attacker snatched off the mother's head scarf and used it to beat the mother as well as kicking her to keep her away while forcing her daughter's head underwater," CAIR added. An African-American man jumped in to help rescue the 3-year-old. Wolf, who was initially charged with public intoxication, reportedly yelled at a woman who was trying to comfort Ms. H, "tell her I will kill her, and I will kill her whole family," as she was taken away by Euless police. Wolf was later charged with attempted capital murder and injury to a child, according to Fox4. "My country is facing a war, and we are facing that hate here," Ms. H said in the news release. "We are American citizens, originally from Palestine, and I don't know where to go to feel safe with my kids." Texas House Member Salman Bhojani, who represents District 92, said he would monitor the situation as it develops. "I'm shocked and appalled by this alleged racist, Islamophobic occurrence that took place in my town," he said. "Hate has no place in Euless, District 92, or anywhere in our great state." Copyright (C) 2022, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyright ed by the respective providers. This story was originally published June 22, 2024, 6:50 PM. North Texas municipal runoff election results Polls were open Saturday, June 15 for eight runoff races in North Texas By NBCDFW Staff • Published June 15, 2024 • Updated on June 15, 2024 at 7:25 pm Below is a list of eight runoff races in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Ballots will only have races for runoffs in that jurisdiction (not all races will appear on all ballots). To see races in other counties, click on the county's election page (links below). COLLIN COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS • Allen City Council Place 3 100% reporting o Ken Cook 60% 2,526 o Dave Cornette 40% 1,683 • Allen City Council Place 5 100% reporting o Carl Clemencich 62% 2,624 o Dave Shafer 38% 1,591 • Anna City Council Place 4 100% reporting o Kelly Herndon 59% 316 o Bruce Norwood 41% 216 DALLAS COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS • Irving City Council District 4 100% reporting o Luis Canosa 56% 1,406 o Susan Motley 44% 1,085 DALLAS AND DENTON COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS • Lewisville City Council Place 2 100% reporting o William J. Meridith 52% 866 o Penny Mallett 48% 796 TARRANT COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS • Euless City Council Place 5 100% reporting o Annabel Jones Eads 51% 375 o Joseph A. Robinson 49% 359 • Kennedale City Council Place 2 100% reporting o Thelma L. Kobeck 81% 236 o Matthew Dyer 19% 52 • North Richland Hills City Council Place 4 100% reporting o Matt Blake 54% 1,558 o Jeff Arwine 47% 1,369 Tarrant County OKs property tax reduction for homeowners BY LILLIE DAVIDSON ldavidson@star-telegram.com THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2024 Tarrant County tax bills just got lower for homeowners: commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to increase the homestead exemption from 10% to a state - maximum 20%. The tax break also applies to the Hospital District. Approximately 404,000 accounts qualify for the exemption, according to the county. The exemptions remove 20% of a home’s value from taxation. The owner of a home appraised at $350,000 will see a savings of $136, according to the county. “Today’s action is a huge win for taxpayers in Tarrant County,” County Judge Tim O’Hare said in a statement released by his office. “By increasing the Homestead Exemptions to the maximum allowed by state law, we are ensuring that homeowners will keep more of their hard-earned money. Setting both Homestead Exemptions at 20% for the first time in Tarrant County is not only historic, but also responsible government.” The decision to increase the exemption is a “direct response” to the outcry over rising property taxes, O’Hare’s statement said. Home prices have increased 105.9% the past 10 years in Fort Worth and A rlington, according to the Texas A&M Real Estate Center. That increase has driven increases in property taxes. O’Hare urged all other taxing entities to increase their exemptions to the maximum allowed by law.